The Deepest Wounds
by vegetasbubble
Summary: Eric Northman receives a phone call at one in the morning from his daughter's babysitter with horrible news. All Human. Alternate Universe.


**Title:** The Deepest Wounds

**Author:** vegetasbubble

**Rating:** Mature

**Summary:** Eric Northman receives a phone call at one in the morning from his daughter's babysitter with horrible news. All Human. Alternate Universe.

**Fandom:** Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries / True Blood

**Contains:** Sexual References, Sex Scenes, mild Violence, Drug References, Coarse Language.

**Authors Notes:** This story popped into my head when I watched the trailer for "What Masie Knew" and realised that Alexander Skaszgard would be an awesome dad so I made Eric into a great dad in this story. Reviews and feedback are loved and well welcomed. No idea how long it will be but I'm aiming for around fifteen to twenty.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ONE: Hurt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_Ring._

His cell phone was ringing and although he wished with all his might to ignore the call, he knew it would just keep ringing.

_Ring._

"For fucks sake," Eric Northman swore, reaching a hand out and grabbing his cell phone, flipping it open and placing it next to his ear, "What!"

"Um… Mr. Northman? Eric Northman?" came a soft and sweet voice and Eric detected the Southern accent in her tone, "I'm calling for Eric Northman."

"Yeah, I'm Eric. Who is this?"

"Mr. Northman, my name is Sookie Stackhouse, I'm Madison's babysitter." Eric jumped up in bed and the sheet fell to his lap.

"What's wrong with Madison?" The girl in question was Eric's five-year-old daughter. Eric had had a fling in college with a woman named Sophie-Anne Leclerq, a French student and nine months later Madison Northman was born. Eric was only twenty-two when Madison was born and had had to finish college at night while working day shifts as a manager of a local bar. He and Sophie-Anne had never gotten back together after their fling and shared custody of Madison. Checking the time, Eric began to freak out. "Its one o'clock in the morning."

"Mr. Northman, I need you to come to Sophie-Anne's house." Eric was up and out of bed, jeans up over his nakedness and threw a black t-shirt on before snapping his phone shut and grabbing his car keys.

"Thor, outside boy," he snapped to his German shepherd who was lying on the couch. Eric locked the door and Thor began running around the yard. Running to his truck, Eric started the car and sped to Sophie-Anne's condo near the middle of Shreveport. As he got closer, Eric noticed various emergency vehicles around with their lights flashing. _Oh fuck_, he thought, parking his car and heading towards the condo.

"Excuse me sir, you can't go in there."

"My daughter is in there," Eric stated, eyeing the patrolman with anger and annoyance, "Now get out of my way."

"What's your name sir?"

"Eric!" shouted someone and he looked up to see a small blonde woman nearing them. She wore a white sundress and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, "His name is Eric, Jason. Its his daughter."

Eric wondered who the hell this woman was but couldn't help but thank her. "I'm Eric Northman," he said towards this Jason man, "and my daughter is Madison Northman. She's in there and you are going to let me in."

Eric looked at his nametag and noticed the "STACKHOUSE" written on the gold plate before eyeing the girl. "You're Sookie Stackhouse?" he asks, questioning the woman. She nods and grabs his hand, pulling him forward into the condo.

"Madison's inside," she says, squeezing his hand gently. Eric followed the small woman inside. She pushed past the policemen and they eventually found themselves in Sophie-Anne's living room and Eric saw his small daughter sitting on a couch with a female officer.

"Daddy!" she shouted, jumped off the couch and ran into his arms. Eric engulfed his daughter in his arms and held her close. Her blonde hair, like his, had a honey golden tinge to it and while he dropped to his knees he couldn't help but take in her scent. "Daddy… its mommy…. She… she's…." Eric held her closer and his eyes met Sookie's, who had started sobbing and he watched as small tears fell down her eyes.

"Excuse me sir," a voice whispered and Eric looked up to see the Shreveport Coroner and his heart fell, "I need to borrow you for a minute." Eric nodded and stood up. Sookie walked over and placed a hand on Eric's chest, "I'll take her, if you want," and Eric nodded and gently handed his only child to the blonde woman.

He followed the Coroner into the bathroom where he finally saw her. Sophie-Anne was lying in the bathtub, paler than normal and blood everywhere. She had obviously cut her wrists and she lay dead in her tub. Eric stopped in the doorway and held his breath. He always knew that Sophie-Anne was a little troubled but he never thought she would do this. "We need you to identify her sir," the Coroner said, "I know now isn't the best time but…"

"No… no its fine. Yes, that Sophie-Anne." He left the bathroom then and returned to Madison and Sookie Stackhouse. The two were sitting on the couch again and Madison's head was resting on Sookie's shoulder. She looked up at him as he neared them and watched as he kneeled down in front of Madison. "Maddie, sweetie," Eric said, touching her forehead with his large hand, "Its time to go." Madison nodded and moved off of the couch and into Eric's arms. He stood, his daughter's arms wrapped around his neck as he headed for the door. Sookie followed, in silence as they made their way to Eric's truck.

"So…, thankyou, for helping tonight," Eric stated, as he placed Madison into the car-seat in the back of his car, the small girl already fallen asleep and snoring slightly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that." Sookie nodded, her eyes still on Madison. "Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

"Sophie-Anne called me at about six and asked if I could take Madison until midnight. She said she would be out with a client and that I could just use my key to get back in. I hate having to take Madison back that late but I only live down the street so it wasn't that bad." Eric nodded and leaned against his truck. "I brought her home and noticed the bathtub was still running. I found Sophie-Anne and… and she was already dead when I found her."

Sookie stopped when she heard a car pull into the fray. Eric watched as a tall, dark haired man stepped out and came to Sookie in an instant. "Sookie," he said, taking her into his arms and she seemed to settle from the day's events.

"Alcide," she whispered back to him, wrapping her arms around his large frame. "Eric, are you okay with Madison?"

"Yeah, you head home. I'll let you know what happens," he responded, eyeing his small daughter fast sleep in the back seat, "Goodnight Sookie."

"Night Eric," she whispered, wiping a tear away from her eye as she watched him climb into the truck. Eric settled behind the wheel as he watched in the mirror as Sookie and the man, Alcide as she had called him, headed towards his truck. He sighed heavily as he started the car and pulled out of the street and headed home, his small daughter snoring lightly in the back seat and thoughts of the night etched into his mind.

**/ So here is a new story, which I know I shouldn't be writing but hey, you can't stop the muse. Next chapter will include more about Sookie. I wonder if Eric will have a horrible couple of chapters or if everything would be fantastic and happy… Ha, not gonna happen. Angsty drama to soon follow. Promise. /**


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